Load Data into the Database

There are many ways to put data into a database. One
method is to manually type SQL commands with psql to insert data into a table. You can also
use programs that convert data into an SQL script that can then be
loaded, or you can use a tool that exports data directly to the
database.

Using shp2pgsql

PostGIS comes with command-line tools called pgsql2shp and shp2pgsql. These can be used to convert from
a PostGIS table to a shapefile and back.

The tool shp2pgsql converts
the shapes to a text stream of SQL commands. Therefore, you need to
pipe it to a text file for later loading or to the psql command to use it immediately. For
example, use one of these methods: